Czech Film Center

Synopsis

A peep under the skirt of classical music. A story describing the preparations for the performance of three works at the Prague Spring Music Festival. Sex, faith, children, the poetry of ordinary things and the voices of angels. Or, put another way: the orchestra as a big circus, conducting as provoking people to the very edge, the solo as communication with a partner. Or put yet another way: seeking a link with the past, the endeavour to achieve (elusive) perfection, the struggle with unforeseen obstacles. What is a music festival: Ladies in front of their dressing-table mirror? The feeling that you were (together with others) actually there? The concentration of exceptional people and exceptional feats? An opportunity for discovery, for experiences, for encounters? Something noble yet languishing on the fringes of society’s interest? The culmination of long-term, difficult work? Opus No. 1 consists of two principal lines and two secondary themes. Encounter – A Czech and Israeli clarinetist rehearse a double concerto. First, they sing it to each other down the telephone and email photos of the dresses… Then they get together and discover that each has been practising a different version of the work. Oratorio – getting ready to perform Dvořák’s St Ludmila, from the soloists’ piano rehearsals through to the full rehearsal.